Ragpickers: Among the Most Desperate People on Earth
It costs so little to completely change the life of a child, and in this world where everything seems to go so wrong, you can help something go right. As you read the story below, if you are moved to help, please do. You can make a difference that changes not only one life, but generations to follow.
Please join with other Meridian readers in sponsoring a child (or children) by clicking here.
What is a ragpicker? Most people in America have no idea. I know I didn’t—until I had the opportunity to go to the rag-picking district of New Delhi. It is a trip I can never forget.
Several of us at Rising Star Outreach had been invited by another charity, Project Concern International, to come and witness their program in the rag-picking district of New Delhi. We had been selling Christmas cards that had been made by the children in the project. They made recycled paper from the trash and then hand-painted Christmas cards. To help support their project, at Rising Star, we sold their Christmas cards in America. To thank us, they invited us for a visit.
The rag-picking area of New Delhi is confined to 22 square blocks. All the trash of New Delhi is dumped there every day. There were people who lived on the trash in tiny cardboard huts. They would pick through the trash, gathering plastics, paper, tin, cardboard, etc. for recycling. Everyone in the family worked. Even so, they did not make enough to feed their families. We were informed that some of the children were forced by the parents into prostitution, to make up the difference. There are probably no more desperate people on earth.
I have seen poverty that many people in America cannot fathom. But I was not prepared for the Rag-picking District. We had been invited to walk several blocks, but the stench of the rotting trash, smoldering in 100+ degree heat was nauseating. Flies were swarming in mass, covering every surface, including crawling on my face, arms, and neck. They were in my ears and even trying to crawl up my nose. Maggots were devouring rotting foods. With every step, rats and roaches scurried from beneath my feet.
The children were the most pitiful of all. They ripped wires out of broken radios and cameras and then pounded them with sharp rocks trying to separate the copper from the wires. Like their parents, the children were barefoot. Every child had cuts and abrasions from the broken glass and sharp metal pieces of trash. Their wounds were festering in the heat. I was overwhelmed.
I became emotionally and physically ill. My heart ached for these children. Altogether it was overpowering. I couldn’t continue. Our hosts could see that I was in trouble, and so the walk was abandoned.
I couldn’t imagine being so desperate that I would willingly spend 14 hours a day in that hellhole, trying to scavenge enough recyclables, that I could hopefully sell, so that my family could buy a few grains of rice to eat.
So why am I sharing this with you? I want to tell you about a family from a leprosy colony in Bihar: Kavitha Kumari and her three small children; *Megala (5), Devendran (4,) and Devi (18 months).
Megala and Devendran, eager to learn, are on the waiting list for Rising Star School, their cherished hope for a brighter future. Kavitha’s dreams for her children’s education is what keeps her going, even in the toughest of times.
Kavita Kumari was widowed at 25 and has had the support of the family on her shoulders. They live in a small hut with her deceased husband’s parents. Providing for her family has been a huge challenge.
Jobs in Bihar are extremely scarce. Bihar has an employment rate of 25%. Not unemployment. Employment! One out of four people are employed. Everyone else is trying to make a living by driving an auto-rikshaw, selling tires or anything else they can collect, baking things to sell, or any other method they can find of generating income on their own.
Please join with other Meridian readers in sponsoring a child (or children) by clicking here.
Being leprosy-affected, Kavitha’s challenge to support her family is even more difficult. The prejudice against people affected by leprosy is very intense in Bihar. No one wants to hire them, and people refuse to buy anything a leprosy-affected person is selling. Earning enough money for food becomes a daily life-and-death challenge. Every day, Kavitha and her step-parents venture out to collect old plastic from the trash heaps of Bihar, which they then sell to make a meager living. The children often accompany them, braving the life of rag-pickers in order to survive.
As they collect plastic garbage, Kavitha tells her children stories of her own childhood, of their father who passed away so young, and of her dreams for their future. In the midst of the horrors of rag-picking, the children try to imagine a better life.
The grandmother, Jayasundar, often takes Devi, the youngest, on her lap and sings soft melodies, trying to distract her from the hardships they face. The deaf grandfather sometimes takes a break to watch over them with loving eyes, his silence speaking volumes about his care.
Together, this family of six faces each day with courage, and with hope. Kavitha’s determination to give her children a better life keeps them all going, even in the face of this crushing adversity.
As the sun sets on another day, Kavitha looks at her children, knowing that she will do everything in her power to give them the future they deserve. The waiting list for Rising Star School seems daunting. But they keep their hope alive by working together and talking of hope.
Our sponsorship Director, Kristen Edwards, was able to be in India the day our school started back, after summer break this year. She was at our school in Tamilnadu. Wanting to share her experience with the families who sponsor our children, she wrote:
I recently had the privilege of visiting India to witness firsthand the incredible impact your sponsorships are creating for our students. As part of my visit, I was present on the first day of school. What a treat!
I saw our returning students arrive with the typical mix of anticipation and nerves in their cutest back-to-school outfits. The teachers were waiting for them with big smiles. The students gave their teacher a high-five or hug as they marched into their first day of class. The teachers had a treat for each child. Teachers and parents cheered as each child passed into their class.
There were also new families waiting to meet with our administration to enroll their children in our program. I met a dedicated mother who woke up at 2:30 AM to walk to the bus station and take the bus to be on campus by 11 AM. She told us that she works long hours in the hot sun assisting a brick mason in Chennai, by carrying heavy loads of bricks on her head. She gets paid very little for her work. She knows the importance of education and when she learned about our school that would educate those affected by leprosy, she wanted to be sure her twin daughters and one son could take advantage of this opportunity.
Her children arrived at the campus visibly undernourished, but they squealed with joy as they explored the fish tank and ran up and down the slide with their new-found friends. As I watched them play, I thought of you and the sacrifices you make each day that shape the futures of some of the most vulnerable and deserving kids on our planet.
Before I left that night, I slipped into the girls’ dorm to check on the twin girls whose mother had walked so far to drop them off that morning. One of the twins was snuggled in the loving arms of her housemother. She was completely enfolded in the sweet embrace.
I left so happy inside, knowing that my small efforts with the sponsorship program, working in tandem with the housemothers, was making a real difference in the lives of these darling sisters.
It is thanks to your continued support that we can make a tangible difference in the lives of these children and families, providing them with a pathway to a brighter future.
I know of a senior in high school who started a cookie business and dedicates her profits to supporting one of our students. Another sponsor cleans homes for a living in Texas and uses her salary to sponsor five students. And many of you sacrifice going out to eat for dinner or lunch with friends because you believe in our mission.
I like to think of your sacrifices and the sacrifice of these parents working in concert to create the opportunity these children crave. I am confident that these kids will change their communities because they have the chance.
With appreciation, Kristen Edwards, Sponsorship Director, Rising Star Outreach
What a contrast! Can you help us get Megala and Devendran into school? We need two sponsors for each one. As I always insist: every child on our waiting list has a story. Every single one has the potential of a successful and productive life, if they can only get the chance to be educated. Help us change lives!
* [Not their real names]
Please join with other Meridian readers in sponsoring a child (or children) by clicking here.
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